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It is sometimes referred to as the "Land's End of North Wales" or, in Welsh, Pendraw'r Byd (roughly "far end of the world").
Aberdaron[edit]
Y Gegin Fawr, built in the 13th century for pilgrims, now serves as a tearoom
Two stone bridges, Pont Fawr (English: Large Bridge) and Pont Fach (English: Small Bridge), built in 1823, cross the Afon Daron and Afon Cyll y Felin in the centre of Aberdaron. Beyond the bridges, the road opens up to create a small market square. The Old Post Office was designed by Portmeirion architect Clough Williams-Ellis.
Y Gegin Fawr (English: The Big Kitchen) was built in the 13th century, as a communal kitchen where pilgrims could claim a meal on their way to Bardsey Island. Aberdaron was the last place on the route for rest and refreshment and pilgrims often had to wait weeks in the village for a chance to cross the treacherous waters of Bardsey Sound (Welsh: Swnt Enlli).
One mile up the road towards Porth Meudwy is Cae y Grogbren (English: Gallows Field), near to which is a large red rock. In the Middle Ages, the abbot from the monastery on Bardsey Island visited the rock to dispense justice to local criminals; if they were found guilty, the wrongdoer would be hanged and thrown into Pwll Ddiwaelod (English: The Bottomless Pool). The pool is a kettle lake, formed at the end of the Ice Age, when blocks of ice were trapped underground and melted to form round, deep pools.
Above the village, on the Afon Daron, stands Bodwrdda, an early 16th-century stone-built house, which had a fulling mill adjacent; two large brick-built wings were added later, giving an imposing three-storey facade containing 17th-century windows. To the south, Penrhyn Mawr is a substantial late-18th-century gable-fronted farmhouse.
The National Trust maintains a visitors' centre at Porth y Swnt, which was opened in 2014.
Bardsey Island[edit]
Main article: Bardsey Island
Restored cottages on Bardsey Island
Bardsey Island, 2 mi (3 km) off the mainland, was inhabited in Neolithic times, and traces of hut circles remain. During the 5th century, the island became a refuge for persecuted Christians and a small Celtic monastery existed. Saint Cadfan arrived from Brittany in 516 and, under his guidance, St Mary's Abbey was built. For centuries, the island was important as "the holy place of burial for all the bravest and best in the land". Bards called it "the land of indulgences, absolution and pardon, the road to Heaven and the gate to Paradise", and, in medieval times, three pilgrimages to Bardsey Island were considered to be of equivalent benefit to the soul as one to Rome. In 1188, the abbey was still a Celtic institution but, by 1212 it belonged to the Augustinians. Many people still walk to Aberdaron and Uwchmynydd each year in the footsteps of the saints, although only ruins of the old abbey's 13th-century bell tower remain today. A Celtic cross amidst the ruins commemorates the 20,000 saints reputed to be buried on the island.
The island was declared a national nature reserve in 1986 and is part of Aberdaron Coast and Bardsey Island Special Protection Area. It is now a favourite bird-watching location, on the migration routes of thousands of birds. Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory (Welsh: Gwylfa Maes ac Adar Ynys Enlli), founded in 1953, nets and rings 8,000 birds each year to understand their migration patterns.
Bardsey Island Trust bought the island in 1979 after an appeal supported by the Church in Wales and many Welsh academics and public figures. The trust is financed through membership subscriptions, grants and donations; it is dedicated to protecting the wildlife, buildings and archaeological sites of the island; promoting its artistic and cultural life; and encouraging people to visit as a place of natural beauty and pilgrimage. When, in 2000, the trust advertised for a tenant for the 440-acre (180 ha) sheep farm on the island, they had 1,100 applications. The tenancy is now held by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; and the land is managed to maintain the natural habitat. Oats, turnips and swedes are grown; goats, ducks, geese and chickens kept; and there is a mixed flock of sheep and Welsh Black cattle.
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society has been working on cetaceans in the region. Several species, most notably bottlenose dolphins, can be observed from the shores.
Llanfaelrhys[edit]
Main article: Llanfaelrhys
The manganese mine at Nant y Gadwen, which closed in 1927
Porth Ysgo, owned by the National Trust, is reached by a steep slope from Llanfaelrhys, 3+1⁄4 miles (5 km) east of Aberdaron, past a disused manganese mine in Nant y Gadwen. The mine employed 200 people in 1906; the ore was used as a strengthening agent for steel. The mine closed in 1927, and produced 45,644 long tons (46,376 t) in its lifetime. Where the path from Ysgo reaches the beach, a waterfall, Pistyll y Gaseg, tumbles over the cliff. At the eastern end of the bay is Porth Alwm, where the stream from Nant y Gadwen flows into the sea. The south-facing beach is composed of fine, firm sand.
To the west, King Arthur's last battle against his arch enemy, Mordred, was supposedly fought in the fields around Porth Cadlan. Offshore lies a rock, Maen Gwenonwy, named after Arthur's sister.
Lladron Maelrhys are two large stones on the border between Llanfaelrhys and Y Rhiw. It is claimed that, years ago, thieves broke into St Maelrhys Church, intent on stealing money. Caught in the act, they fled for their lives but were caught as they approached Y Rhiw, and killed on the spot; the stones mark their burial place. Another version claims that, as they crossed the parish boundary, they were turned to stone for their sacrilege.
Porthor[edit]
The beach at Porthor is part of a 420-acre (170 ha) coastal estate owned by the National Trust
Porthor (English: Whistling Sands) is a cove 3+1⁄4 miles (5 km) north of Aberdaron that has smooth white sand; when dry, the sand whistles or squeaks, underfoot. The crescent-shaped beach is backed by steep cliffs of relatively hard rock, from which the cove has been sculpted by the rough seas. The bay is the centre of a National Trust estate comprising 420 acres (170 ha) of shoreline, headland and farmland; it includes Mynydd Carreg and Mynydd Anelog.
On the hill summits that dot the headlands are heather and gorse, shaped by the prevailing wind; thrift and wild thyme thrive on the acidic soil. The cliffs are a stronghold of the chough, and a nesting place for razorbills and guillemots. On the lower rocks, in reach of the waves, are plentiful lichens, seaweeds, sponges, limpets and barnacles.
To the south are Dinas Bach and Dinas Mawr, twin peninsulas formed from weathered pillow lavas 600 million years old, thought to have been early fortified sites from the Iron Age. Kittiwakes, cormorants and shags can be seen on the cliffs, while farm birds such as the yellowhammer frequent the gorse. On Mynydd Anelog, experimental plots have been marked out to monitor different methods of managing heather to discover the best way the habitat can be conserved for the future.
North of Porthor is Porth Iago, a south-facing narrow inlet and rocky cove, which has a small beach and steep cliffs.
Rhoshirwaun[edit]
Capel Saron at Rhoshirwaun was opened in 1903 by the Calvinistic Methodists.
Rhoshirwaun lies two miles (three kilometres) northeast of Aberdaron, and was formerly a marshy area. It provided fuel from peat cuttings, pasture for animals and accommodated squatters, mainly fishermen, who had encroached on the common with the tacit acceptance of the community. An inclosure act was drawn up in 1802, designed to remove all squatters who had been there less than 20 years. Resistance to the evictions was fierce and was only suppressed by a contingent of dragoons. The act was finally applied in 1814; new roads were built across the moor; boundaries were established; allotments allocated; and wetland reclaimed.
Castell Odo, on Mynydd Ystum, is one of Europe's earliest Iron Age Settlements, standing 480 feet (150 m) above sea level. The hillfort, 165 feet (50 m) in diameter, has visible traces of eight circular huts; pottery found on the site dates from 425 BC. Legend has it that a giant, Odo Gawr, is buried under a cairn of stones on the summit; nearby is a huge rock known as Carreg Samson, supposedly thrown from Uwchmynydd by Samson. The holes in the rock are said to be the imprint of his fingers; a pot of gold reputedly lies underneath.
To the east of the village, Felin Uchaf is an educational centre exploring ways of living and working in partnership with the environment. Developed on a redundant farm, it provides residential courses in rural skills and sustainable agriculture. A traditional Iron Age roundhouse has been built on the site.
Uwchmynydd[edit]
Uwchmynydd, 1+3⁄4 miles (3 km) south-west of Aberdaron, has a long history of human settlement. Mesolithic flints have been found in the area and a Neolithic stone axe was discovered on Mynydd Mawr. Hut circles are visible on the summits and part of a Roman anchor was recovered off Trwyn Bychestyn.
At Mynydd Mawr, the picnic site has views which, on a fine day, take in Cardigan Bay, Bardsey Island and the Wicklow Mountains; at night, South Stack Lighthouse is visible in the distance. A road to the summit, owned by the National Trust, was built during the Second World War to provide access to the heights, where men were posted to give early warning to Liverpool of Luftwaffe air raids. The former Coastguard lookout point, manned for almost 80 years before becoming redundant in 1990, provides views over Bardsey Sound to the island. The hut contains an exhibition to the natural history of the area and a mural created by local children.
The headland at Braich y Pwll is the only known location on the British mainland of the spotted rock rose, which produces bright yellow petals that last only one day. The coast here has open grass heath land and mountain, giving way to rugged sea cliffs and coves. There is a profusion of wildlife; it is an ideal vantage point to watch the spring and autumn bird migrations. Choughs, peregrine falcons, kestrels, puffins, stonechats, guillemots and Manx shearwaters can be seen; dolphins, porpoises and seals can be spotted in the water.
Porth Meudwy is the traditional embarkation point for pilgrims heading to Bardsey Island
Above the sea cliffs are the remains of Capel Mair (English: St Mary's Chapel), where it was customary for pilgrims to invoke the protection of the Virgin Mary before making the dangerous crossing to Bardsey Island. At the foot of Mynydd Mawr is Ffynnon Fair (English: St Mary's Well), the last stop for pilgrims crossing to the island; the well is a freshwater spring which is covered twice daily by the sea, emerging from the ebbing tide with crystal clear water.
Cwrt (English: Court), now a large farm, was the administrative centre of Bardsey Abbey's mainland estates and was known as the "Court of Bardsey". The steepest cliffs in the Llŷn Peninsula are at Y Parwyd, the scene of a local ghost story. In 1794, a newly-married couple moved into a cottage nearby. Within a few years, they were disturbed by a phantom, but when they read a verse from the Bible, the phantom would retreat towards Y Parwyd and hover over the cliff edge before disappearing; the couple finally moved to Bodferin. In 1801, a ship pilot was put ashore on the rocks below the cliffs. Although very drunk, he managed to climb the cliff face and, reaching the top, fell asleep in a sheep pen. In the early morning, he awoke and, still drunk, headed for home; however, he walked in the wrong direction and disappeared over the cliff edge into the sea.
The traditional embarkation point for pilgrims crossing to Bardsey Island was at Porth Meudwy (English: Hermit's Cove), now a lobster fishing cove. Further south is Porth y Pistyll, which has good views of Ynysoedd Gwylanod, home to puffin and guillemot colonies; and Pen y Cil, where the Precambrian pillow lavas are exposed, revealing how they have been contorted over time.
Y Rhiw[edit]
Bwlch y Garreg Wen at Y Rhiw
Main article: Y Rhiw
The mountain-top hamlet of Y Rhiw is four miles (six kilometres) to the east. There are fine views of Llŷn towards Snowdonia. On the slopes of Mynydd Rhiw is a late Stone Age burial chamber, and Neolithic quarries. Nearby on Mynydd y Graig are three hillforts, several hut circles and terraced fields that are thought to date from the late Iron Age; in 1955, a Bronze Age cinerary urn was uncovered in the village.
Plas yn Rhiw, owned by the National Trust, is an early 17th-century house that was restored by the Keating sisters in 1939, with advice from Clough Williams-Ellis. It is believed that the house is on or near the site of an earlier defended house, built by Meirion Goch in the 10th century to prevent incursions by Vikings into Porth Neigwl.
Bwlch y Garreg Wen at Y Rhiw, built in 1731, is a croglofft cottage, a type of agricultural worker's house found in Llŷn.
